Keep your ears and eyes open for anything that you think you can do. I used to wash/wax floors...a friend of mine worked for a guy who would clean the floors of department stores. I'll tell you one thing, the more the work sucked, the more motivated I was when I got to college...because I never wanted to be doing that kind of work again. Anyway, if you have a special skill, like fixing computers, etc, try posting flyers where there is a lot of people walking by. As far as mowing lawns as being dangerous, I think only if you are a klutz, then maybe that is an issue. It's probably more dangerous working at night in a 7-11 than cutting lawns. Good luck to you..it's nice to see someone at your age that wants to earn their own money.
http://www.poopmasters.com/services.htm Not glamourous, but $10 per house per week / number of hours (10-15 minutes per) you'll spend doing it and it starts to look pretty good. Do some detailing/washing on the weekends and I think you'll get there..
Do you have Asphalt driveways in Tn or are they concrete? If it's asphalt, you can reseal them for people. I did this way back when and had a very lucrative summer. The initial investment is minimal, and the payoff is huge since people really don't like to do this. Get one house, and next thing you know you're doing the whole street! Things to remember: Find out what contractors are charging and beat that. be professional, make an estimate form based on square footage. Get a measuring wheel for accurate measurements. Have a friend help, you get a lot more work done and in the end you'll make more. Preferably someone who drives and has a pickup or a van. be clean, be clean, be clean. That is what sells the next job! Find a good product, don't go cheap, cheap sealers wear off in no time. It's work, but it beats $10 bucks an hour...I netted over 15k that summer working a few days a week.